(Video courtesy IlliniProductionsHD)
Illinois offensive line coach Luke Butkus has no doubt his unit is trying -- but the numbers aren’t kind.
The offense ranks 109th in the country in sacks allowed (3.33 per game), 102nd in scoring (21.2 points per game), 101st in total offense (338.3 yards per game) and 94th in rushing (126.5 yards per game). First-year coach Tim Beckman’s spread attack has taken longer than expected to blossom and the Fighting Illini (2-4, 0-2 Big Ten) are struggling to simply score points.
“Obviously, I’m not happy with how we have performed,” Butkus told The News-Gazette. “These kids are giving great effort, and they go out on the field and they bust their butt every day; that’s where it all starts. I’m proud of the way they’re fighting, but there’s still a lot of stuff we need to clean up.”
Getting healthy would help.
Senior C Graham Pocic missed games against Charleston Southern and Louisiana Tech with a knee injury, and T Hugh Thornton missed the Penn State game with a knee injury. Factor in an injury to starting QB Nathan Scheelhaase and the offense has had difficulty finding any consistency.
“Are we banged up a little bit? Yeah,” Butkus told DailyIllini.com. “But everybody is. That’s the way it is. It’s a physical, aggressive, rough game. You’re going to have nicks and bruises, and you’re going to get hurt. We’ve got to fight through it.”
The blocking also is a big reason for the mediocre play of RBs Donovonn Young and Josh Ferguson. Young has rushed for 227 yards with two touchdowns with 23 catches for 110 yards and a score; Ferguson has 181 yards rushing with 20 catches for 179 yards.
“You can hand (the ball) to anybody, but you’ve got to be blocking the people up front,” Beckman told The News-Gazette. “We’re trying to get better on that offensive line, trying to do things that we can be successful doing with the front and the personnel we have.”
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